Lottery 2.0 Basics

The lottery is Hampshire's annual room choosing process. The lottery takes place over a two-week period at the end of the spring semester. The spring 2014 lottery will begin Tuesday, April 22 and end Wednesday, April 30. Only one size mod will be available per day, starting with four person mods and continuing through ten person mods. The last day of the lottery will be to allocate dorm halls and Prescott Suite 104.

All students have lottery points. To participate in the lottery, students get together in groups and combine their lottery points. They use this total number of points to try and "win" a mod by completing a registration packet that is submitted to the housing operations office. Groups use a registration form to rank all of the mods of their size from the one they want most to the one in which they are least interested. Groups are awarded their highest ranked mod that has not already been won by a group with more points.

Keep track of what mods have been won for how many points and what their designations are with these handy lottery Bingo cards! Also available in hard copy at the housing operations office.Greenwich (pdf) mods 1-40Enfield (pdf) mods 41-71Prescott (pdf) mods 72-105; includes suite 104

Finding modmates can seem overwhelming, especially when your friends may not be a good match for your preferred living environment. Residence Life is here to help! We'll be holding events before and during the lottery to help people meet up, compare living styles, and make good matches. We'll be announcing those events via email and social media. Follow us on Facebook (Hampshire College Residence Life and Housing) and Twitter (@hampshirehoo) for up-to-date information, or join our facebook group for a chance to connect with potential modmates.

Choose your modmates carefully. It is extremely important to form a lottery group with people you can live with comfortably, rather than students with lots of points who aren't a good match for you. Talk with potential modmates about the issues that you'll face when living together, and whether you would be compatible. This should include: who will share the double, tolerance to smoke on clothing, cleanliness, cooking/shopping together, noise level, and anything else that's important to you.

Make a contingency plan with your group in case you don't get the initial size mod you try for (i.e. have people in mind to add to your group if needed). Groups and individuals can post physically on the bulletin boards in the HOO lobby to search for lottery groups/members, or post virtually on our Facebook page. Residence Life and Housing will also be hosting programs to facilitate meeting new group members.

Once you've formed a group, discuss and fill out a Modmate Contract to set designations and norms for your mod. Completing a modmate contract (pdf) will earn your group one extra point. Modmate Contracts can be downloaded as a PDF from our website (http://www.hampshire.edu/housing/ ) or picked up at the HOO. The contract must be completed in full and signed by every member of your group (excluding those on leave this semester) to qualify for the extra point. If you fail to win a mod the contract will be returned to the point person designated on the registration form. Your group can use the same Modmate Contract in the next size lottery you participate in, but all new group members must sign the contract to be awarded the extra point. Contracts will be kept on file and mod residents will have the chance to review and revise their agreements during their initial mod meeting in the fall.

Step 1: Get your Lottery Point Letter. Lottery Point Letters will be in your mailbox by 4 p.m. on Monday, April 21. Lottery Point Letters for students on leave will be put in their proxy's mailbox.

Step 2: Complete a registration form (pdf) for the mod size you will try for first. Registration forms will be available in the entry way of the HOO (accessible 24 hours) starting at 4 pm on Friday, April 18. Make sure your whole group is present (or at least has some input), as you will need to rank all of the mods of that size from the one you want most to the one you are least interested in. You will also have the option to put an ?X' on any mod you absolutely don't want to live in.

Step 3: Submit a complete registration packet to the HOO by 1 p.m. sharp on the lottery day for the mod size you are trying to win. LATE REGISTRATION PACKETS CANNOT BE ACCEPTED. No exceptions. A complete packet includes:

You can submit registration packets 24 hours a day by using the drop-slot in the main HOO door. Please be 100% sure your registration packet is complete and secured together. You cannot amend/change your registration packet after it has been submitted.

Step 4: Results will be posted each day at 4 p.m. in the window of the HOO, accompanied by the data from that day. The results will also be on the intranet, and our Facebook page. The winning groups will also recieve an email confirmation.

Step 5: If your group wins a mod, congratulations! Each person in your group will need to go to the HOO to sign up for a room before May 9 at 4 p.m. (M-F; 9 a.m.-4 p.m.). When you sign up for a room in the mod you won you will also have the opportunity to list students you would like to live with if any vacancies arise ("alternates"). Plans change, vacancies happen, and while we can't guarantee that your alternates will be assigned to vacancies, we will do our best to make it happen.
Step 6: If your group did not win a mod, regroup and try again! Your point letter will be back in your mailbox by 4:30 p.m. on the day in which you participated. Get a registration form for the next size mod you are interested in, check the date for that lottery, and add people to your group so it matches the correct size. Get your new group members to sign your group's Modmate Contract for an extra point, and submit your new registration packet! HOORAY!!

Once your registration packet has been submitted, HOO staff will review it to ensure all point letters are attached and that your lottery points have been recorded accurately. As registration packets come in we enter the group's name, total number of points, and mods in order of ranking into a spreadsheet. Once the registration deadline has passed, we sort the spreadsheet so the group with the most points is on the top line and the group with the least points is on the bottom line.

Groups are awarded their highest ranked mod that has not already been won by a group with more points. In case of a tie the group with the higher average divisional status will win. If there is still a tie the group with the higher age average (as of September 1, 2014) will win. At least two members of the HOO staff and an intern observer (with no stake in that day's lottery) independently review the spreadsheet and compare results for accuracy.

Each person in your group will need to go to the HOO to sign up for a room. Room sign-up runs from 9am on April 23 through 4 p.m. May 9. When you sign up for a room in the mod you won you will also have the opportunity to list students you would like to live with if any vacancies arise ("alternates"). Plans change, vacancies happen, and while we can't guarantee that your alternates will be assigned to vacancies, we will do our best to make it happen.

Dorm room sign up for students unhoused after the lottery begins at 3 p.m. on Thursday, May 1 and continues through 4 p.m. on Friday, May 9 (M-F, 9 a.m.-4 p.m.). Dorm rooms will be given out on a first-come, first-served basis. Any student who does not win a space in the lottery or signs up for a dorm room will be assigned a room by the HOO.

When you sign up for a room in the mod you won you will also have the opportunity to list students you would like to live with if any vacancies arise ("alternates"). Plans change, vacancies happen, and while we can't guarantee that your alternates will be assigned to vacancies, we will do our best to make it happen. Listing alternates does not guarantee their placement in a mod.The housing operations office makes all room assignments after the lottery, including the time between fall and spring semester. Students returning from leave/field study/exchange, entering students, and dorm residents on wait lists will be housed in vacant rooms prior to any other student on campus being considered for that vacancy. Placement decisions are made based on the unhoused student's preferences and the mod's designations. Every effort will be made to house students whom the mod has designated as alternates. The mod may designate students living in dorms or who expect to return to campus in the spring of 2015.